TAILGATING FOR CHIPPER JONES

CHIPPER JONES TRIBUTE NIGHT

By Doc Lawrence

ATLANTA-Not an empty seat anywhere for over an hour before game time. The fans came from all over the South to thank their hero, third baseman Chipper Jones, a future Hall of Fame member and a career-long Brave. Outside in the parking lots, Tailgaters were grilling Andouille, lamb lollipops, Georgia White Shrimp and one was serving Ceviche, a dish more common to South Beach than Peachtree Street.

But, Chipper is a Floridian, so the dish was appropriate after all, particularly since my generous hosts Babs and Jim Morris, two Atlanta residents, served this with generous pours of Nadia Sauvignon Blanc, a delightful wine from Santa Barbara County that has found a home in Atlanta.

I ate and then ate some more. The benefits of being a roving Tailgating reporter include great food and wine, hand-crafted  cocktails and the joy of making new friends. This was just a perfect night to play some baseball, have a pre-game feast and begin the process of saying goodbye to Chipper.

The final act before going into Turner field to watch the ceremonies that included other Braves legends like Hank Aaron and Bobby Cox, was enjoying an Old Fashioned, perhaps America’s oldest cocktail. This beauty was made with Maker’s Mark, a perfect end to this Tailgating feast.

Great job, Chipper. Braves fans have long memories. We’ll always be grateful.

Thomas Jefferson, a revolutionary gardener? See www.winesdownsouth.com

BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN!

TOMAHAWK TIME IN ATLANTA

By Doc Lawrence

ATLANTA—Clinching a place in the playoffs last night was special, but the way it happened-a two-run come from behind home run in the bottom of the ninth-was heroic. Somewhere above Atlanta two hours before midnight the Angels were celebrating. For the uninitiated, Braves’ fans for over a century have known since the days in Boston that flocks of Angels cheer them on. According to my grandson, they were doing the tomahawk chop and chant as two heroes crossed home plate to victory.

Getting into the playoffs after a dry run of several years in a city that became accustomed to being near or on top every baseball season brought memories of my dear mother who absolutely loved the Braves. I always said she would never die during baseball season. She left this planet during the Christmas holidays and is buried near the grave of the Braves’ immortal announcer Skip Carey.

Way to go, Mom.

The other evening, I sat in an audience and enjoyed a young author talk about his book about baseball in Atlanta. He opened with a story about a game played here in 1866. The Civil War had just ended. Sherman had destroyed all but a few homes in the city. The baseball field was near the graves of Confederate soldiers in Oakland Cemetery. And those who had lost everything but hope cheered on the players.

Those words confirmed that baseball became the national sport because of the Civil War. I have a photo in a book showing Union guards playing baseball with Confederate prisoners at a New York prison.

Baseball unifies, crosses all boundaries and nourishes the better aspects of our humanity. Baseball encourages seniors to act like children. And it’s played just about like it was long, long ago.

In 1991, the Braves brought Dixie our first World Series. For a good many days that October, there was magic in the air. Where the Braves finish this year is a work in progress. But just getting the chance to reach the pinnacle is enough for now.

I’ve found that old red foam rubber tomahawk from 1991 and am getting in the proper frame of mind for the playoffs. The grass is as green as the Irish countryside, the autumn air is comfortably crisp and the sunshine is warm and gentle. Everything feels like baseball.

May those Angels above Atlanta smile upon our “Boys of Summer.”



NOTE: Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden is featured in Wines Down South.
www.winesdownsouth.com

TAILGATING DOWN SOUTH-TALLAHASSEE

A FOOTBALL FEAST IN NORTH FLORIDA

By Doc Lawrence



"MISS JAN" SERVES STONE GROUND GRITS



TALLAHASSEE—Driving into this lovely state capital city from the nearby Georgia border town of Thomasville always means a stop at Bradley’s Country Store. It’s a chance to see “Miss Jan,” more formally known as Jan Bradley Parker, and pick up some tailgating essentials like pork chops, homemade sausages, Mayhaw jelly and Tupelo honey. On a football weekend, Bradley’s becomes a Florida culinary adventure, bringing in customers who appreciate Miss Jan’s food store where grits are stone ground, the meat cured in a real smokehouse and the conversation is down home cheerful.

If you are lucky, you’ll run into celebrities here like legendary coach Bobby Bowden, a frequent customer.

The evening before the Clemson-Florida State game allows time for dinner at David and Elizabeth Gwynn’s Cypress restaurant, a showcase of impressive dishes reflecting the diversity of Florida’s harvest. Fresh seafood from nearby Panacea on the Gulf of Mexico is the norm, and you haven’t really lived until you devour their signature Oysters and Biscuits, a gourmet original.

Tallahassee’s regal Hotel Duval with a history that dates back to FSU’s earliest football days, is the perfect place to get in the mood for a night game. The day was free for drinks and light fare at the Duval’s Level 8 Lounge. The lagniappe is a stunning view the capital city.

On this first day of autumn, the lots outside Doak Campbell Stadium became a moveable feast. Gumbos galore, smoked mullet dip (a North Florida delicacy that deserves a place in tailgating), shrimp served in countless ways, plus authentic Southern-style chicken and of course barbecue pork were mere samplings.

The predominance of Jim Beam Bourbon-which includes Beam varieties like Red Stag- confirms the masses appeal of Bourbon.The tasty elixir is soaring in tailgating popularity. With fresh air, warm sunshine and friendly surroundings, legendary Bourbon has a prominent place.



JACK CARSWELL STANDS ON THE SPANISH TRACE



Had a grilled Bulldozer lately? This is Sunshine State vernacular for the Florida lobster and few things taste better from the grill. Plump, smoky and buttery, this calls for wine with some complexity. One parking lot chef served my entourage  Bulldozer along with a glass or two of chilled  Château La Gatte Bordeaux Rosé. For a few priceless moments, Florida met France..

Next year Florida celebrates its 500^th anniversary and the ancient Spanish Trace literally goes through the heart of Tallahassee. The trading route was the first by Europeans in America connecting St. Augustine with all of North Florida. Vestiges of the early civilization remain here in the food and wine traditions. The old wine cellar built centuries ago by Franciscan monks has been restored at Tallahassee’s Mission San Luis, confirming that the first wines brought into America came to Florida.

One of my favorite tailgating recipes is from Lara Lyn Carter, a rising star celebrity TV chef and a regular on the NBC affiliate WALB-TV in Albany, Georgia. Dedicated to her father, an FSU stalwart, it’s one of those dishes filled with flavor from the grill and perfect with a bottle of dry Dr. Loosen Riesling from the Mosel River Valley. Enjoy Lara Lyn’s tailgating recipe before kickoff:

http://www.winesdownsouth.com/Recipes/Tailgating-with-Lara-Lyn-Carter.pdf

In the Deep South, tailgating is more than a ritual, it’s a social umbrella that combines the exciting pageantry of college football with the great outdoor feast. The food is local. The wines, in the Jeffersonian tradition, are from all parts of the world, and the Jim Beam Bourbon is from Kentucky.

NOTE: Jefferson, The Revolutionary Gardener is the feature story for Wines Down South.

www.winesdownsouth.com

September 2012 eNewsletter

AUTUMN FUN, TAILGATING AND LEWIS GRIZZARD The leaves are turning by the day, festivals are in full swing and the wineries are celebrating this year’s harvest by pouring the fruits from past labor. Gardening is just as popular in the fall as other seasons and Wines Down South covered an event about America’s most famous gardener, Thomas Jefferson. Peter J. Hatch spoke on behalf of his book, “A Rich Spot of Earth: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden,” and the evening at the Atlanta History Center is one of our major features and also the inspiration for our new home page. (click) This month we reunite with Georgia’s beloved Lewis Grizzard. We can’t bring him back, but we can laugh and maybe shed a tear during an amazing on stage portrayal. “Lewis Grizzard: In His Own Words” has played at Stone Mountain, Georgia’s ART Station to sold out audiences for the past eleven seasons. Over the past decade the show has sold out over 850 shows across the United States. Bill Oberst, Jr. pays respect and honors Lewis Grizzard with the best of Grizzard’s stand-up comedy and selections from his books and columns. Four wives, 450 daily newspapers, millions of fans, hundreds of concerts, oceans of vodka, thousands of prayers, and at the beginning and the end of it all, Moreland, Georgia. Always Moreland, the tiny town that time forgot and Lewis embellished. It was his Mayberry, his Lake Wobegon. Like Twain before him, Grizzard used the sense of his youth to weave tales that were always truth and even when they weren’t exactly fact; “this generation’s Mark Twain,” Check out an excerpt on the right by clicking the image. Doc Lawrence has already hit the road for our annual Tailgating series. First Knoxville and the University of Tennessee followed by visits to Tuscaloosa, Tallahassee, Chapel Hill, Charlottesville, Nashville, Oxford, Athens and many more college football venues where the food is some of the nation’s best, the wines are divine and  Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam are fashioned into some wonderful cocktails. It isn’t possible for all our favorite teams to win, (that would be our wish), but we can wish all our followers and fans a new season filled with happy days, great things from the grill and toasts saluting friendship and good will. It’s a way of life down South! Friend Us! Follow Us! Share Us! LEWIS GRIZZARD AS PORTRAYED BY BILL OBERST, JR. (Click for preview). Lara Lyn Carter is the celebrity chef star of the hit cooking show on WALB-TV in Albany, Georgia. Click and enjoy her preparation of red snapper baked in Georgia Olive Farms Oil. Also, click hereand access Lara Lyn's exclusive Tailgating recipe for pork sliders.     DOC'S WINE PAIRING   For Lara Lyn's delicious baked red snapper. Let's pour a grassy Sauvignon Blanc from St.Suprey

Wines Down South Sheila Brewington    Doc Lawrence    Stephen W. Cannon    Val Kruse  Jordan Bloomingdale    Guy McKenzie     Anne Marie O'Keefe     Lynne Brandon Copyright © 2012 Wines Down South, All rights reserved.